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Angola said on Thursday it would leave the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) over a disagreement on production quotas following the oil cartel’s decision last month to further slash output next year.
Angola said on Thursday it would leave the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) over a disagreement on production quotas following the oil cartel’s decision last month to further slash output next year. Mineral Resources and Petroleum Minister Diamantino Azevedo said that the decision was not taken lightly, but OPEC membership no longer served the country’s interests.
Angola thinks the time has come for the country to be more focused on its goals, stated Minister Azevedo. He said Luanda was unhappy with the group’s decision last month to further slash production next year to prop up volatile prices. If Angola remained in OPEC, it would be forced to cut production and this goes against the country’s policy of avoiding decline and respecting contracts, Azevedo further stated.
Angola is one of the largest oil exporters in Sub-Saharan Africa, alongside Nigeria. Both countries expressed dissatisfaction with their production quotas at the November OPEC ministerial meeting as they sought to step up production to secure vital foreign currency. The meeting had to be postponed for several days because of disagreements.
Prices are sitting near their lowest level in nearly six months despite the cartel’s announcement in November to further cut output. They have jumped in recent days as cargo shippers and oil firms say they will avoid using the Red Sea and Suez Canal because of drone and missile attacks by Houthi rebels. But they remain below USD 80 a barrel.
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Nevertheless, crude prices have remained above the average for the past five years. To prop up prices, the OPEC + alliance has implemented supply cuts of more than five million barrels per day (bpd) since the end of 2022.Founded in 1960, the 13-member OPEC cartel in 2016 partnered up with 10 other producers to form OPEC+ to gain more clout.
